6 Answers

Answer #1 · Doug Hansen's Answer · Hey, there are a few different products that you can use to kill and control ants in your raised garden bed. If the raised bed is just for flowers and not being used for growing food products you can use Acephate for a quick kill or Bayer Advanced Complete Insect Killer which has a 3 month residual. Both of these products can be applied inside the bed or around the edges to discourage ants and other crawling insects from entering the surrounded area.If the raised garden is being used for veggies you will want to use an organic product such as Green Light Fire Ant Control granules which you would sprinkle on any mounds and throughout the bed. Liquid and powdered Sevin can be applied directly to the foliage and will take further applications depending on rainfall. Thanks for the question. I hope it was a help to you.)

Also, if you find yourself with an ant community, check the undersides of your plant leaves to determine if they are there because they are "herding" aphids. Aphids secrete a sticky substance that is like catnip to ants. When they locate an aphid population (sucking the life out of your plant through its leaves), they actually "herd" them like cattle, to keep them producing the sticky, sweet substance for themselves.

A regular water blast to the undersides of your leaves will knock the aphids loose to the soil and (hopefully), they should become a meal for some of your bennies (beneficial insects). Remember, not ALL insects are bad...Some actually help us to grow great veggies!

Answer #2 · John Heider's Answer · Hi Pat-Doug has given you some good products to use on ants in your vegetable garden. The organic insecticides should work well for you. Normally ants will not be a problem as far as damaging vegetable plants. They can eat vegetable that are ripe, but most pick these before ants have done any damage.Dipel Dust is an organic pesticide. It contains BT (Bacillus thruingienia) which is a very effective biological insecticide. There are different forms of BT that target specific pests. Each version of BT kills a fairly narrow category of pest. The Dipel Dust readilly available usually targets caterpillars and worms such as those found on tomatoe plants and other vegetables. I'm not sure which version would be effective on ants. I have read that some versions of BT can be harmful to bees so you would not want to dust if you have bees anywhere in your garden at times.There are a few articles in Gardenality regarding repeling ants in the garden and "Insect Pest Control in The Vegetable Garden". These may also be of help to you with your new garden. You can click on the articles tab above and type 'ants' or 'vegetables' in the search box. You will find articles regarding your question and many others helpful in growing vegetables. There you can also find a good article by Doug on "How To Control Fire Ants in The Lawn and Garden". You can also click on the few links listed below to go directly to a few of these articles.http://www.gardenality.com/Articles/147/Problems-and-Solutions/Insects/Insect-Control-In-The-Vegetable-Garden/Insect-Pest-Control-In-The-Vegetable-Garden.htmlhttp://www.gardenality.com/Articles/728/How-To-Info/Organic-Gardening/How-To-Repel-Ants-and-Other-Insects-In-The-Garden/default.html)

Additional comments about this answer:

Pat Navarre · Gardenality Seed · Zone 8A · 10° to 15° F
Thank you everyone for your advice. The ants seem to be located in one corner of the bed. For the past three days I have gone the boiling water route. I know this will probably not eliminate them all. I emptied my compost bins and tilled that into the bed. It has coffee/tea grounds in it so that might make them move on. I went out today and don't see any. I am going to buy some beneficial nematodes and up them into the bed. I just can't put chemicals into my soil where food will be grown. I won't be planting until Good Friday so I still have some time. Also, I bought some soil activator from Gardens Alive.

Brent Wilson · Gardenality Administrator · Zone 8A · 10° to 15° F
I'm the same way Pat...can't put any chemicals in my vegetable garden or my fenced in back yard where the dogs roam around. Good to hear you got rid of the ants in your garden. I've heard the boiling water trick actually works good on small mounds that dont go too deep. This is another case where a stitch in time saves nine. The sooner they're spotted and dealt with the better. My landscape is heavily populated with the little black sugar ants, but I usually leave these alone. Fire ants are another story. These imported insects don't belong here in the states and should be eradicated whenever possible.

Answer #5 · Jim Parks's Answer · My experience has been that whatever you apply to the ants only kills the live ants but does not seam to kill the eggs. I have been using boiling water on the ant bed. It is cheep and there are no worries about harmful chemicals. I pour the boiling water over the mound and wait a couple of hours then do it again. I check the next day for activity. If I see live ants I do it again. I have never had to repeat more than 3 days, usually only takes two. You will loose plants in that area but will be able to replant the area the next day.

Answer #6 · John Heider's Answer · The boiling water solution that Jim mentioned has now worked for me also several times. Like Jim I have never found an insecticide that seems to help much beyond the initial application. I found an article that may be interesting and helpful in using this simple solution. Just click on the link to go directly to the article.

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